John Ryder knows he is fighting to keep his “dream alive” when he steps back into the ring to take on Jaime Munguia in the United States later this month.
Ryder, 35, won huge respect last May after taking the legendary Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez all the way when he challenged for his super-middleweight world titles in the champion’s home country of Mexico in front of 55,000 fans. Ryder recovered from being knocked down in the fifth round before he lost on points.
Ryder (32-6) was given the Steve Hiser Award for Bravery at the Queen Victoria pub in Bermondsey last July.
Islington’s Ryder has a long association with Fisher and was close to the late Hiser, who he called for advice before his fight with Alvarez.
Matchroom Boxing fighter Ryder has been preparing for the bout with his trainer Tony Sims. Sims knows Manguia’s team see Ryder as ideal preparation as they hope for a fight against Alvarez this year. “But”, Sims says, “on our side it’s a good fight for John.”
Mexican Munguia, 27, has a perfect 42-0 professional record.
“I want to continue operating at this level against big-name operators,” Ryder told Boxing News. “This is perfect for me. If I’d had a list of five names, he would have been top or thereabouts. He needs to beat me to guarantee himself a shot at Canelo and I need to beat him to keep going – to keep my dreams alive.
“He’s gonna be tough. He doesn’t know how to lose yet, and I’ve got to go there and stick it to him. I’ve got to show him the levels, as such. Show him what it’s like to be in there with Canelo and use all this knowledge I’ve gained, all this frustration I’ve gained through the years of close fights not going my way.
“I’ve got to go in there and leave it all in the ring.”
Ryder isn’t worried there could be a ‘home’ decision if it goes to the judges.
He said: “I think we saw a fair scorecard [in Munguia’s fight] against [Sergiy] Derevyanchenko. I think it was pretty much down to the last round and I think Munguia pulled it out in that last round, dropping him and swinging it in his favour.
“It’s all very well saying we’re going to Mexico or the US but it’s all on the same platform, it’s all on DAZN. It’s going out to every country. It’s not like some unknown channel in Russia no one’s going to see. I think we’re going to get a fair crack of the whip. And that’s all I hope that we get a fair crack of the whip and that the fight is judged fairly.”
The fight takes place in Phoenix, Arizona on January 27.